17/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Paris conference postponed. French President François Hollande announced on Tuesday 17 May that the international conference on the Middle East, scheduled to be held in Paris on 30 May, had been postponed until the summer. He did not give a date. “US Secretary of State John Kerry cannot attend on 30 May, so (the conference) has been deferred. It will take place in the summer”, Hollande told the EUROPE 1 radio station. The conference will bring together some 20 countries, the EU and the United Nations but not the Israelis or the Palestinians. If the meeting is successful, a second international summit - this time with the Israelis and Palestinians in attendance - is likely to be held in the second half of this year. The postponement of the conference could also help ease tensions. Israel has accused France of “partiality” following a vote in favour of a UNESCO decision seeking to protect Palestinian cultural heritage and the distinctive character of East Jerusalem, a decision which Israel deems hostile. (CG)